


it's a love story, baby

by ApollosArtemis



Category: Scorpion (TV 2014)
Genre: 5+1 Things, F/M, Fluff, Happy calls Toby baby, Jealousy, So really it's 7 things, There's also a bonus!, Toby calls Happy baby, basically up to 4x05 and then canon gets thrown out a bit, but mainly just fluff, kinda follows s4, there's some sadness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-25
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-16 06:35:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29696526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ApollosArtemis/pseuds/ApollosArtemis
Summary: 5 times Toby calls Happy "baby" and the 1 time she calls him baby.And a bonus, because I couldn't stop (and I'm obsessed with these two calling each other baby, in case you couldn't tell).
Relationships: Toby Curtis/Happy Quinn
Kudos: 4





	it's a love story, baby

**Author's Note:**

> I have to mention that this fic was mainly a group effort. Thank you Ghadeer for brainstorming with me, and for hyping me up, and thank you Poppy for reading through to check for mistakes. I love you both so much, and I'm really glad you decided to go on this Scorpion / Quintis journey with me <3

**1.**

The first time he says it, it’s an accident. 

She’s used to weird nicknames, and she knows he’s only using them because she’ll roll her eyes, or she’ll smack him, and he thinks that’s funny. It’s pushing her boundaries, still, even though now it’s no longer needed to get her attention. 

She really thought she would have to suffer through things like _turtledove_ or _cupcake_ forever. Happy is aware that the traditional nicknames aren’t much better, and she’d rather dump him on the spot than get called “honey” on a regular basis. 

But then, one day, they’re making out on her couch, the movie they were watching long forgotten behind them, and he calls her _baby._ She knows it’s an accident, because he’s digging his fingertips into her hips, and he’s more breathless than he should be for a makeout session. It’s casual, it’s quick, tumbling from his lips as she attaches hers to his neck, and it doesn’t even look like he registered that he said it. 

When she asks him about it, later, she leaves out that she liked it. That in the moment, it worked and that it was incredibly hot. 

When he asks her about it, she declares that “baby” is still off the table. 

  
  


**2.**

The second time it happens, they’re in a bar. 

They’ve all been worked up for weeks, taking case after case after case even though they were nearing exhaustion, but none of them could wait and all of them were life or death, so they pushed through. 

Paige had suggested getting so wasted that they wouldn’t physically be able to take more cases for a while, and even Walter and Sly had agreed that that was a solid plan, even though they planned on getting far less drunk than the others. 

Happy would have been fine with many, many hours of sleep and delivery pizza, but now that she’s here, outdrinking both Paige and Toby with ease, she has to admit that she’s having fun. Toby keeps leaning into her, keeps entangling and untangling their fingers so he has something to do other than listen to some alcohol induced rant by Walter, and she doesn’t even mind that they’re in public. It feels… easy. Like getting drunk with her boyfriend, friends and boss is something she does regularly. 

After a while, Toby takes her away to the bar, with the excuse that they’ll get more drinks, but she thinks he just wants a moment alone with her. When they reach the bar though, he announces that she can order whatever, he’s going to go to the bathroom for a minute. 

It takes 37 seconds for a girl to stand unnecessarily close to her while waiting on her turn to order. 

“Uh, hey.” Happy says, uncertainly, because she knows enough by now to know that not saying anything at all is rude.

“Oh! Hi!” The girl says, turning her entire body so that she’s facing Happy. “I’m Rylie.”

“Happy,” she can see the confusion on her face, so she quickly adds “that’s my name. I’m Happy.”

“That’s such a unique name, I love it,” Rylie says, and Happy doesn’t feel like actually replying, so she smiles at her. Rylie beams back, but it’s not until Rylie lifts her hand and starts twirling her hair, that Happy finally understands what’s happening.

“Oh, I’m-” She gets interrupted by another body, but this one is familiar and not confusing in the slightest. 

Toby slings an arm around her waist and presses into her. She’s not completely sure if he’s playing up how drunk he is when he sways slightly. “Babyy, have you ordered yet? I think I’m feeling shots.” For good measure, he kisses her cheek, and she feels terrible for barely containing her laughter. 

Rylie looks a bit taken aback, so Happy shoots her an apologetic look as Rylie mutters “I’m so sorry” and disappears back into the crowd. 

As soon as she’s gone, Happy turns fully towards the bar and Toby gives her some space, no longer leaning against her. His arms move so that he’s now holding her waist, no doubt because of Rylie and her flirtations. “I can’t believe I’m gone for a few minutes and you’re already getting hit on.”

“What can I say, I’m just charming like that.” She feels a bit mean for messing with him, but in her defence, this jealousy thing is deeply amusing. For a second she gets reminded of climbing a glass wall with high tech gloves and Toby flirting with another woman on the job, and it’s a startling reminder that _feeling_ jealous is one of the worst feelings in the world. 

“Wrong, you’re hot as hell. And you’re mine.” He moves in a bit closer again, and his voice gets lower, and she knows it’s because he wants to mess with her too. 

“That I am,” she agrees quickly, because she needs him to hear it from her. “Were you serious about shots by the way? We’re almost up for ordering.”

He tells her he never jokes about shots, but it’s a bit off. 

“Hey,” she turns so that they’re facing each other. “I love you.” 

For good measure, she presses their lips together, briefly but firmly, because she can’t shake the feeling that this meaningless flirt rattled him a bit too much. 

And then she turns back around and asks the bartender for a lot of alcohol. 

  
  


**3.**

Collins is back. Toby is gone. 

She’s drilling into ice with Sly, and they have no way of getting out, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is that somewhere on this godforsaken tundra, her husband is drowning. She can hear Walter thinking out loud, hears the stream of _Toby? Toby! Toby?,_ and it’s dizzying. 

_Toby is gone._

What if he never comes back? What if this is it, a few weeks of marriage, and a forever that’s not meant for both of them? 

Everybody is saying things, rattling off numbers and statistics, calling out names (hers? Toby’s?), and none of it makes sense. 

And then Sly says something that drowns everything else out. 

“Time’s up.”

For a second, it’s quiet. 

“Did you get him?” It’s Paige, voice quiet and unnaturally even.

She can hear her heart beating in her ears, can see Sly’s big eyes and terrified stare. 

_Toby is gone._

“No. I’m so sorry Happy.” Walter’s voice comes in clear, too clear, but everything after “no” blurs together. She thinks she screams, is unsure of what everybody else does. Not that it matters anyway. 

When she wakes up, she can feel the first rays of the California morning sun, and she hears Toby’s voice. 

“Hey, you’re okay, you’re okay, I’m okay, it was a nightmare baby, we’re safe.”

She’s still shaken, and when she brings a hand to her face to steady herself, she notices that there are tears on her cheeks. Toby must sense that she’s struggling, because he does something, and ends up with her sideways in his lap and his back against the headboard. Both of his arms wrap around her, and pull her as close against him as possible. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” 

Happy doesn’t think she has ever told him this, but she truly loves how soft and kind his voice can get. 

“I don’t know.” 

It’s Toby, so she should have expected that he’d know. 

“Collins.” It’s a statement, not a question, and she wants to cry because he knows her enough to get it right. 

She tries to read into his tone, but it’s just an observation on his part. There is nothing that indicates anger or fear, and she envies that a bit. She doesn’t think she can say the name Mark Collins without any sign of emotion ever again. 

_Toby is gone._

It doesn’t help that Walter said the actual words, that they continue to bounce around in her head like he just said them. 

“Happy,” Toby starts, moving one of his hands so he can trace patterns on her arm. “It’s okay.” 

“You didn’t make it out. When you got pulled under the ice. You didn’t-“ Her body seems to protest, and the last part of her sentence gets stuck in her throat.

“Shhhhh, it’s okay. I’m okay. I’m right here.” He takes her right hand and presses it over his heart, always knowing what’s the best way to help her.

It works, his steady heartbeat thrumming away against her palm proof that he’s as alive as possible. 

“I love you,” she mumbles then, because she didn’t say it after he got back up on the ice, and she needs him to hear it. 

“I love you too.” Toby replies, and god, hearing that makes her feel better too. 

There’s a pause then, a comforting one during which she can only hear his breathing and feel his heart. 

“Did you call me baby?” 

“Hm?” 

“When I woke up. I think you called me baby.”

“Oh, yeah, I might have. Was that… unwelcome?” 

Happy breathes out then, and there’s a whisper of a laugh in it. “No. It was cute.”

“Am I the one dreaming now? Happy Quinn called something cute? And it was a compliment?”

“Shut up, idiot.” She yawns then, wide enough for her jaw to pop.

“Maybe we should get some more sleep.” Toby suggests, but he doesn’t take any action to move. 

“No,” the hand that’s still over his heart twists into his shirt, unnecessarily holding him where he is. “No, I like knowing you’re here.”

“We could spoon. And sleep. But we don’t have to.”

She tries to fight it, wants to tell him she doesn’t want to dream and learn more about a life without him. But she yawns again, and he’s here and he’s safe, and he’ll still be here when she wakes up. So she agrees, and when she falls asleep again, she doesn’t dream. 

She doesn’t have to, because she has him.

  
  


**4.**

They have to rob a bank. Walter, Paige and Cabe are trapped inside a building, minutes away from getting shot to bits, and they have to rob a bank.

It’s a bit ridiculous, that she’d gladly fight anyone, that she’s fine with breaking into any building, that she doesn’t really have a problem with taking things that aren’t technically hers to be taken. 

But it’s not walking into a bank and announcing that she’s here to rob the place. She can tell that Toby knows that she’s nervous, but he’s nervous too. It’s written all across his face.

They’ve done this before. Not exactly like this, but they have taken actual things from banks before, so this shouldn’t be too bad. Telling herself that, over and over and over again, doesn’t actually get rid of her nerves. 

“Read it to me one more time?”

She fakes annoyance, but secretly she’s glad they’re checking one more time. The note is good. Of course it is. By now, all they’re doing is stalling. 

“Good luck baby, I’m keeping my fingers crossed for you.”

It’s unclear when she became a sap, but she realises she doesn’t want to do it alone. The fact that he knows that, just by looking at her, almost makes her feel as giddy as the casual usage of baby. 

Goddamnit, she genuinely likes it now.

  
  
**5.**

“Hey baby, I have tampons, chocolate, chips and nerds. Is there anything else you want?”

“Do we still have ice cream?” It’s annoying that it’s a Saturday morning and that he’s already at the store when her period hasn’t even started yet. But, according to Toby as he forced himself out of bed, it’s good to be prepared, and they don’t know when they have to be back at the garage. And if they’re at the garage, there’s really no telling when they’ll get back home. She wanted to argue that feeling emotional without a gazillion snacks is a first world problem, but she already knew he’d go anyway. 

“I think we still have a bit of mint chocolate chip left but I’ll get more. Also, I might get some chunky monkey for myself. Anything else?” 

“Chunky monkey? Really?” She rolls over onto his side of the bed, simply because she can, and because she’s the one with an eidetic memory, which means he won’t notice the few extra wrinkles in the sheets. 

“It has bananas! Means it’s healthier than mint chocolate chip.” 

“Shut up, that’s a corporate lie. Can you get some cheese snacks too, by the way?”

“Of course. Don’t get my side of the bed too warm, I might want to come back to cuddle. Warm beds are weird.”

“How-”

“Marriage? Or the world class behaviourist thing, take your pick. How do you feel about vegan ice cream?”

“Go nuts on vegan chunky monkey, don’t touch mine.” Toby laughs, and shortly after she hears him throw something into the cart. “Are you gonna stay on the line the entire time you’re out?”

“I might, I like talking to you.”

“Hmmm, but I’m tired.” It sounds a bit like whine, which is unnecessary because she could just hang up. The truth is, and they both know it, that she likes this just as much as he does. 

“Then go back to sleep. But on your side of the bed.” 

“Hey man, you chose to leave. Whatever happens in your absence is out of your control.” Happy goes back to her own side though, but she does steal one of his shirts and puts it on to compromise for the fact that the bed is empty. 

“Alright, I’m at the checkout line, I’ll be back before you know it.”

“Mmmkay, see ya, love you.”

The last thing she hears before the click is Toby laughing at her. Jerk.

  
  


**\+ 1.**

With a single phone call, everything seems to fall apart. 

It’s Evelyn that calls him, the picture of the two of them as kids that’s saved as her contact picture a rare sight on his phone. 

_“I didn’t think anyone else would call you, I’m sorry for only doing it now. Toby, Ms. Hart passed away.”_

Happy is out, he vaguely recalls that she got dragged away with Paige for some girl bonding. He’s not sure if it’s better that she’s not here. It feels incredibly silly, that he’s this shaken by the passing of a teacher he hasn’t seen or even heard about in decades. But, on the other hand, Ms. Hart was the only teacher who fought for him, who convinced his parents to let him skip grades, the only teacher who understood, the only one who would light up as he talked about something that should have been out of reach, considering his age. He knows for a fact that his life would have turned out very different, if it hadn’t been for Ms. Hart. 

When she returns, which can be anywhere between 30 minutes and 3 hours later, she finds him curled up on her side of the bed. He hears her drop something, which sounds like a bag, but he can’t bring himself to care enough to check, and then she’s taking off her jacket, shoes and jeans. Before he can do anything to compose himself, she joins him under the covers, on his side of the bed. He doesn’t turn around and continues to stare into nothingness. She stays away from him, laying on her side and facing him, but not touching him.

“Hey,” it’s all she says, and he knows it’s because she’s confused. He can practically hear the gears in her head turning, going over important dates. His parent’s birthdays, moving out, graduating high school, graduating med school, wedding anniversaries of cousins, the last time he saw specific family members or friends from New York. Trying to think of anything that could lead to this.

“Hi,” his voice sounds hoarse, more than he expected, and it’s a bit confronting. 

“What happened?” 

“I had a teacher, Ms. Hart-” he starts calmly, but he can feel his throat closing around the next few words. “I just heard she died.” It’s weird, hearing it out of his own mouth. It makes it real, and just the thought brings on fresh tears. 

“Can I touch you?” She sounds uncertain, wary of crossing boundaries and somehow making it all worse.

He doesn’t know how to respond to that, can’t seem to form any words, so he turns around and curls up against her. Happy switches to lay on her back and shifts them so his head is on her chest, her right hand in his hair. 

“Oh baby, I’m so sorry.” 

For a while they just lie there, Toby with his arm slung over her in a sort of hug, and Happy’s hand twirling with his curls. 

It feels like she has to break the silence, like he’d be fine staying like this for the rest of time. 

“Do you want to tell me about her?” 

“She was kind. Caring. Listened to me when no one else would.” His voice is quiet, almost a whisper, and Happy forces her eyes closed against threatening tears because it’s audible that he had cried long before she came home. “I haven’t seen her since Tess graduated. I had just finished med school.” 

Tess is a younger cousin, the daughter of his mothers brother. According to his stories, she’s one of the few family members he really got along with. She knows he hasn’t seen Tess herself in a few years either. 

“Don’t beat yourself up over that,” she tries to think of something to add, thinks of Scorpion and being broke and battles with addiction. “You’re on a different coast. And you don’t have a lot of people to go back for.”

Toby exhales, and it’s a bit shaky. “But there are some, still.” 

“Darling, we haven’t had the time. Or the money, for a good while there.” She knows she’s doing it wrong, that she’s trying to fix something with logic that has nothing to do with logic. That it’s emotional. That it doesn’t matter that they haven’t had time, or money, or reason. Right now, he feels guilty for not seeing someone in years that changed his life for the better. “We can go to New York, if you want.” 

“No, it’s okay. Apparently the funeral was a few days ago. Nobody thought I’d care, or so I’m told.” 

They settle back into silence, Toby’s hand taking her left one and twirling with her rings. 

“You called me baby.” He sounds pleased, and it’s a welcome change from the way his voice was breaking before. 

For the first time since walking through the door, she smiles. “Don’t make a big deal out of it.” 

“I liked it. But in public, maybe just call me babe.” He starts moving her fingers, bending them and unbending them at random, and she knows it’s because he needs to be doing something with his hands. Even if it’s just one of them. 

“I’m not going to call you any nicknames in public.” 

“Just wait and see, Hap, just wait and see.” 

There’s a beat, and she thinks she’s supposed to say something smart back. But she can’t just move on, can’t pretend like he’s not a bit broken in her arms and just talk about nicknames like it’s any other day.

“I love you. I’m sorry I can’t fix this for you.” 

“Oh no. Don’t do that. Without you I’d still be a ball of misery,” he drags her hand towards his face to press a kiss into her palm. “I love you too.”

Happy realises she has no clue what time it is, so she abandons running her fingers through his hair for long enough to feel around for her phone. She doesn’t find it, finds his instead, but that works too, she supposes. 

The screen says 7:08. 

“When’s the last time you ate?” She drops the phone, brings her hand back to his hair because she likes doing it. And, because he sighs contently at the contact. 

“Not sure,” Toby replies, going back to spinning her rings. 

“We could order something?” 

“Yeah, that sounds good,” but he doesn’t move. “Thank you, for being here.” 

“Always.” It would have been scary, years ago, that she knows that she really does mean always. That she trusts him enough to count on him, to know for certain that he’ll always be here for her too. 

But right now, it’s simply a fact, something she has known to be true for a long time, and something that won’t change. They’ll have each other, through heartbreak and sorrow, and for forever. 

  
  


**Bonus**

She wakes up to talking. Toby is on his stomach, further down the bed so his head is aligned with her bump. 

“What are you doing?” 

“Talking to the baby, this doesn’t concern you.” He sounds serious, but when she looks at him, there’s a smile on his face.

“The baby _is_ me, right now, and I was sleeping.” 

Toby glares at her, and then looks back down at her belly, promptly ignoring her with: “What do you think baby? Daddy and baby time is more important right?” 

Happy sighs, and tries to be annoyed but she can feel that there’s a smile breaking through, so she steals his pillow and drops it over her face. 

“See, mommy’s going back to sleep, we have all the time in the world to hang out.” 

She can’t let that slide, so the pillow goes back to it’s designated spot. “No. What’s important, is that mommy has enough sleep to grow a human being. So. Shut up. Come back to bed.” 

“I’m in bed.” Toby replies, and she knows that this has switched to just fucking with her.

“But you’re so far away,” to demonstrate, she stretches one of her arms out towards him. “You can talk to this kid from up here. I’m not that tall anyway.” 

He laughs at that, loudly, so she grabs his pillow once again, and smacks him with it. 

“Please? Please just let me sleep. I’m tired.” 

That seems to do something, because his smile falters a bit. 

Time for some damage control, because she’s not going to let him beat himself up over this. “No, Toby, it’s okay. I’m being dramatic. What were you talking about to our kid, anyway?” 

His smile comes back, but it’s a bit less bright. “That’s confidential,” he looks at her skeptical face, and immediately breaks. “Okay fine. I may have told them about how amazing you are and how much I love you.” 

“You woke me up so you could tell me indirectly that you love me?” 

“No. I was bonding with my child. You just happened to wake up.” 

She almost tells him “fuck you”, but then she remembers that there’s a ban on swearing. “Dork.” 

“You should say something,” Toby says softly, now actually looking at her. 

“I have been talking. This entire time, actually.”

“To the baby, love. Not to me.” He knows her well enough to know that she doesn’t know what to say, so he adds “It’d be good for bonding. Just say whatever comes to mind.” 

“Uhm.. hey baby. I’m sorry your dad is so annoying.” Toby laughs at that. “I promise he’s more likeable most times. And I love him, or whatever, so I don’t actually mind it that much.” 

Toby takes the pause to kiss her stomach, which she thinks he has been wanting to do for a while.

“Will you please come back to me now? I miss you.”

“You’re such a softie.” He’s beaming by now, and she might be annoyed that he woke her up, but this view of him, giddily happy and so clearly in love with her, with their life, is worth it. But she’s not going to tell him that.

“Yeah, we’ve known that for a while. Now come cuddle.” 

He finally obliges, and when he’s face to face with her again, it takes a very short time to fall back asleep. Right before her eyes fall closed though, she mumbles that this was nice. That she could maybe get used to moments like these. 

“Good. I’m glad you had a good time. I love you. I’m sorry for waking you up.”

If she hadn’t been on the brink of fading into dreamland, she would’ve said she was sorry for giving him such a hard time for it. 


End file.
